25 Creative Ways for Your Elf On The Shelf to Celebrate Christmas With Your Family, Includes a Free Printable Elf Notes
This post and the photos within it may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.
Stuck for ideas of where to hide your elf? Here are 25 easy Elf on the Shelf ideas for your elf shenanigans! Your kids will love the activities your elf gets into, and you’ll love having fun elf ideas ready to go! Find a free printable Elf on the Shelf notes below for perfect last minute Elf On The Shelf fun.
Hi Crafty Friends!
Are you an Elf on the Shelf Family? If you are, then you are going to love, love, love today’s free printable.
My Christmas celebrating parent friends generally seem to fall into one of two categories:
- “We have an Elf on the Shelf but finding new and creative things to do with it each night is the bane of my existence.”
- “No way in heck will my family EVER have an Elf on the Shelf. I have enough on my plate.”
A few of my mom friends enjoy elf duty, though they are pretty few and far between.
Our Family’s History With Elf On The Shelf
My first year of elf duty was so much fun. Then year two rolled around…and it was painful. I would forget to move the elf each night and felt uninspired trying to find new creative ideas. I eventually figured out a little secret– if the elf idea is fun enough, your kids will look forward to it happening every year! If you are able to put together a good list, revisiting past ideas can actually be a really wonderful thing.
A few years ago my oldest became the newest member of the Santa crew. She was getting older and started asking about Santa. One day, we went for lunch and I told her that there isn’t just one Santa, but millions of Santas. People around the world who kept Christmas alive in their hearts and who wanted to keep the magic of Christmas going for children everywhere. She shared that it was important to her to help keep the magic of Christmas alive for her little brother.
I asked her if she wanted to be the newest Santa, and she of course said yes! One of my daughter’s first Santa job was to help with “elf duties”. And since then, the two of us have been helping our elves get into all kinds of mischief and it’s brought Christmas to a whole new level of fun.
At the beginning of every “elf season”, we sit down and and brainstorm a list of antics our elves can get into. If we ever need any extra supplies, we make a quick stop at the dollar store. Then we hide the supplies away in a closet, and refer to our list each night.
Everything You Need To Know About Elf On The Shelf
What Is Elf On The Shelf?
An Elf on the Shelf is a magic scout elf from the North Pole. Santa Claus sends the elves to families who would like to host an elf in their home. Elves arrive on December 1st and they hang out in the Christmas tree, sit on the mantle, or with their little elf head poking out of the top of a Christmas stocking. He or she comes with a book that explains this incredible holiday tradition.
Our elf is my son’s favorite Christmas tradition, and I’ll admit it makes me smile an awful lot too. As much as he loves Christmas, it always feels bittersweet on Christmas Eve saying goodbye to his elf and all the mischief he gets into. But he always eagerly awaits our elves to return each Christmas.
What Happens To The Elf On The Shelf At Night?
Each night, the elf magically transports themselves back to Santa’s workshop to report if children should be on the good list or the naughty list. It’s important for children to be on their very best behavior! The next day, they head back to the hosts house to hide and do something fun to delight their child. When your child wakes up, they get to hunt for the elf’s new spot.
What Is An Elf On The Shelf’s Favorite Snack?
Our elves favorite snacks are chocolate, candy canes, marshmallows, sugary cereal, Christmas cookies, cake, maple syrup (obviously… we have a Canadian elves!), mandarin oranges and pretty much any other holiday treats.
Do Elves On The Shelf Have Pets?
Elves sometimes also have their own pets! They appear to children as a stuffed animal, but at night they turn into the real deal and they do their own scouting of the house while their elf goes to visit Santa. My favorite elf pets are reindeer, Arctic foxes and and also St. Bernards!
Adopt a pet for your Elf On The Shelf
Is An Elf On The Shelf Naughty or Nice?
Generally, most elves are nice proper elves and bring little gifts like an advent calendar on the first day of the month, tiny lego sculptures, candy canes and other sweet treats. Some elves even like to bake Christmas cookies! However, some are naughty elves that might make little messes around the house using fun ingredients like sprinkles, marshmallows, and chocolate.
Whether your elf leans more to the nice side, naughty side or is a mix of the two, children love waking up to discover the elf antics!
Rules of Elf On The Shelf
An Elf on the Shelf is fun, mischievous, and celebrates the very essence of Christmas. However, a few simple rules must be followed:
- Children can talk to the elf and tell the elf their Christmas wishes but the elf cannot talk back.
- Elves have important jobs in the North Pole and can only be away between December 1 and December 24. They have to make their final report back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve and help Santa! Don’t worry they will return next year!
- The biggest rules your children must follow with Elf On The Shelf is that you NEVER TOUCH THE ELF! Why you ask? If someone touches the elf, they lose their magic!
Was the elf accidentally touched? Are they in the way? Did they tip over? Or does your elf just need a helping hand and moved? Discover 8 ways to restore their magic and learn to make Magic Elf Moving Gloves using your Cricut cutting machine!
25 Easy Ideas to Get You Started With Elf On The Shelf!
Our elves have some favorite Christmas traditions that they do every year, and then they always try to throw in a few new and fun ideas too. Beginners to Elf on the Shelf have no fear! We’ve got you covered with some fabulous ideas!
What Do You Do with Elf on the Shelf?
Some of our elf’s favorite cute ideas include:
- Parachute in on December 1st using the Elf On The Shelf Glide And Go Accessory Pack
- Ziplining on bakers twine across the living room with candy canes and Christmas ornaments (this one is a lot of fun)
- Getting into mischief with a roll of toilet paper and Hershey Kisses!
- Fishing for goldfish crackers in the kitchen sink
- Bringing the kids new Christmas decor to decorate the house with
- Reading Christmas books to their toy friends by the fireplace
- Building a snowman or getting into a mini marshmallow snowball fight
- Making snow angels out of flour, rice or sprinkles
- Using a plastic bowl to sled down the stairs into a laundry basket filled with clothes
- Drawing funny faces on family portraits or writing on the mirror with dry erase markers
- Hiding in the fridge
- Building a racetrack with toy cars
- Having a toy parade with Barbie dolls, Minions, and other toy friends
- Getting stuck inside a mason jar (this is also a great opportunity for a child to take an elf on a tour of the house)
- Making hot chocolate
- Riding on the ceiling fan
- Laying out DVDs of Christmas movies and treats for a special movie night complete with popcorn.
- Enter your name and email address below for our full list of 25 Elf On The Shelf ideas plus our printable elf notes!
Want to grab this free printable? Enter your name and email address into the box below and we’ll send it straight to your email! Signing up for one of our free printables subscribes you to our enewsletter where we send you a ton of free stuff straight to your inbox. Don’t worry if you’ve already signed up once, you’ll only be subscribed once per email address.
Please remember this printable is for personal use only.
- This file can be used in part or in whole for your personal projects.
- Digital reselling, sharing, redistributing of the files is NOT allowed. If you would like to share, please direct friends to the original blog post where you found this printable file
Even More Elf On The Shelf Ideas
Looking for more Elf On The Shelf ideas for Santa Claus’ favorite scout? Then I’ve got you covered! I’ve got Printable Elf On The Shelf Accessories and Props, Christmas Printables for your elf to bring, a magical elf moving glove and so much more!
Make sure you check back often to see our latest Elf on the Shelf Printables, Crafts and Christmas printables your elves can leave for your kids! Click on the photo below to go to the post!
Gift Ideas For Your Elf On The Shelf
Did you know that elves are just like children and they love to get presents for Christmas too? It’s true! Our elves love to find special presents just for them in the leadup to Christmas (and we all know that what the elf wants, the elf gets!)
If you want to get your elves some very special presents of their own, visit our Elf On The Shelf Favorites Shop on Amazon for some of our favorite suggestions! When you purchase a gift for your elf using these links, you help to support our site!
More DIY Christmas Ideas You’ll Love
Looking for more DIY Christmas crafts and ideas that your family will love? Click on the images below to go to the project or printable!
If you like Christmas Printables make sure you check out our Printables Section and pin this post to Pinterest! It helps others find our content, which helps us continue doing what we do!
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope that you love this Elf on the Shelf printable and that it helps make your holiday season just a little bit easier! Have friends who are struggling with their elves? Make sure you send them a link to this site so they can download this printable too!
I love the idea to make a snow angel using sprinkles.